Great things for us, and necessary work for God

By John Pearring

Saturday of the First Week in Ordinary Time
1 Samuel 9:1-4, 17-19; 10:1
Mark 2:13-17

Samuel is our example, an ancient one at that, of God’s plan from the beginning of time to use us as his proxies, extensions of authority in the realm of creation. Our usefulness is not just for his plan but for us. We hear in Sunday’s reading about the backstory of Samuel. Saturday’s reading already has Samuel in operation as a seer and prophet of God, but his beginnings formed the young man.

“Samuel grew up, and the LORD was with him, not permitting any word of his to be without effect.”

We grow up with the Lord, whether we know it or not. How much more deep and satisfying is it to understand that a relationship with God is a dependency that fulfills great things for us and necessary work for God?

The result of Samuel’s response to God, “Speak, for your servant is listening,” is an intimacy similar to Solomon’s access to wisdom. Elijah and Moses joined Jesus at the Transfiguration when his divine visage was revealed to Peter, James, and John. Martha and Mary are not just casual acquaintances of Jesus. They exhibit familiarity akin only to very close friends. 

God depends on his prophets' historical importance, but there is more to the relationships. Through everything he did, Jesus further clarified and established humanity’s roles as confidants and brothers with God, sisters, and witnesses.

Our place in creation is cemented in Genesis, in the first chapter:

God blessed them, and God said to them: Be fertile and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it.* Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air, and all the living things that crawl on the earth (Genesis 1:28).

Some of us might consider the biblical stories as off-center tales, uncommon interludes between God and rarely chosen, holy, and exemplary individuals. We may bracket the prophets as rarities, which is natural. Still, since Jesus’ conquering of death and rescuing the righteous dead into Heaven, we can’t dismiss the obvious references that apply to each of us.

I found a collection of quotes from the New Testament in teaching from a writer named Tricia Goyer, a mother of ten and homeschool advocate. Her list is not just a litany of our duties as Christians. They note how closely God wants us to relate to him and the outcomes of that relationship.

Here are a few:

“Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household,” Acts 16:31.

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well,” Matthew 6:33.

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work,” 2 Timothy 3:16-17.

“And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near,” Hebrews 10:25.

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven,”Luke 6:37.

Like Samuel and the other great names in scripture, we have a place in God’s creation that, however small or insignificant, may well be the root of witness and turning to God beyond anything we can imagine.